“Because sometimes you have to do something bad to do something good.”

—

Oscar Wilde

==================

Curiosity can be a cruel friend on occasion.

Ok.

I imagine I could say that being curious is a cruel gift. The curious are always on a trajectory of … well … more. It is difficult to ever attain “enough” if you are curious. This is different than unlearning this is actually just about insatiable learning. Each step never begets a desire to rest but rather to take another step toward some unseen horizon. This comes at a cost.

I share this graph I drew because most curious people do not always assess any consequential cost-benefit analysis when embracing this seemingly infinite abyss <or, more positively, a well> of curiosity.

It doesn’t really matter if your curiosity drags you down the more shallow slope of surface breadth of tantalizing “one learning begets a path to another learning” or the more focused depth of “how much can I learn about this” … the temptation of curiosity is more often cruel than it is pleasant.

This means curiosity goes where it may … even if the outcome is harmful, useless or endless. This also means the curious, in a cruel twist of fate, are often treated as ‘ignorant’ of what is important with regard to using their time <this happens often in aa business world of “measurement of doing not thinking“>.

Even with all that cruelty … suffice it to say people, in general, have a tendency to go above and beyond but the curious are almost addicted to the above & beyond. This seemingly instinctual urge to gain information we don’t really need is extraneous — and at its most extreme, dangerous.

Dangerous? Well … yeah.

If you think about it, having an overactive curiosity muscle is almost counter intuitive to evolutionary theory, i.e., the most curious among us should’ve been killed off pretty quickly. And, yet, curiosity has survived, people have survived and the undeniable drive to actively pursue “above & beyond’ survives.

That doesn’t mean it is any less cruel … just that it permits survival.

The other cruel aspect of curiosity is its uncomfortably close relationship with ignorance. Theoretically curiosity exists to remove ignorance. Far be it from me to point out that if your curiosity is never completely sated then ignorance remains, exists and is most likely bigger than ever before.

Oh.

I did point that out.

Cruelty … plain cruelty.

I imagine someone could embrace ignorance and avoid the cruel aspects of curiosity although I would suggest a closed mind actually expands ignorance. And as ignorance expands … within that growing emptiness … I would imagine at some point someone is going to be tempted to know what lightning was, what the stars were, how something can be done better, done faster or just done, or even why someone got sick and someone got better … or whatever temptation may arise within ignorance?

Temptation is temptation.

Ah.

The thorns of curiosity. The cruelty of curiosity has never stopped the curious even despite the fact that most of the curious are not particularly good at assessing long term consequences nor are they particularly good at assessing the cost/benefit analysis.

In July 2016 The Scientific American magazine published an article called — Curiosity Is Not Intrinsically Good <The human drive to resolve uncertainty is so strong that people will look for answers even when it’s obvious those answers will be painful>. I would point out that does not mean curiosity is not good just that if you do not manage your curiosity well … that s not good.

Look.

Curiosity may be cruel. Curious people may suck at cost benefit analysis, assessing consequences of their curious time investment and gathering useful information versus useless information … but sometimes you have to do something bad to do something good.

As with everything else in Life … the best of the curious learn to manage their addiction. They learn to balance the depth versus the breadth, the time invested versus the return on their investment and while they know that their curiosity can be cruel at times … they just learn to carry some band aids for the times they prick their fingers on the inevitable thorns.

I still believe we, as a society, would be a much healthier society if we handed out band aids and encouraged more curiosity rather than curb curiosity by suggesting it is most useful to ‘the dreamers.’ In fact … back in July 2010 I even suggested a “National Program to Support Childhood Curiosity” directed toward kids <with Curiosity Fulfillment teachers>. I still believe this would be a better initiative than most of the more focused, but misguided, initiatives it seems like we craft for our children these days.

Regardless. Curiosity can be a cruel gift … but a gift nonetheless.

===================

“To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me.”

“We’re in a world now where it’s not enough to be smart. You have to be curious. Curiosity is rare. That level of intelligence is rare. Probably the further up in a business you are, the less intelligent you need to be. At the entry stage, the sieve grows ever tighter and education can only do so much. The truth is we don’t manufacture that many really smart people.”

—

Barry Diller <Media Industry Outlook for 2014>

===================

Well.

This is about what is more important in business – business smarts or curiosity. To begin I use a phrase my friends at TopModels refer to as ‘black box thinking.’ It is a combination of the fact in today’s business world:

– Knowledge <or information of shit> is available to anyone with access to a computer <a black box>

– There are an increasing amount of things which are ‘black boxes’ of inner workings <they work … but the majority if is have no clue how they work>

– Great decision making in today’s business world is more often defined by on how good you are at assessing what aspects should be accepted on ‘faith’ <the black box designated aspects> and what aspects need real knowledge & understanding

– It has never been possible to know everything … but in today’s world it is mind numbingly <and humbling so> obvious <which means we HAVE to be dependent upon black boxes>

– Curiosity is not just a business characteristic but also a management tool <an openly curious leader embraces team dialogue & discussion – without relinquishing decision responsibilities>.

All that said. Smart isn’t enough.

In order to weave your way through business issues, organizational issues, people issues and real knowledge issues takes a daunting combination of strength of character, curiosity, strength of self and real leadership <of which confidence, not arrogance, is embraced>.

Yikes.

Now there is a tough combination of characteristics to embody in one person.

Well. That’s why there aren’t many great leaders in today’s business world.

Business is changing. Therefore business leaders <and what is needed> are changing. And I say that to not simply suggest … but rather I will unequivocally state … that many of existing leaders are unqualified to meet these characteristics.

Now.

You may think I am being a little harsh … but read what Barry Diller said in his interview:

By the third hour of your morning, you have some kind of a headache. The reason is you can never master the swiftness of change, innovation, knowledge, etc. It’s very daunting. You really didn’t need to know very much if you were really good, if you had better instincts. We’re in a world now where it’s not enough to be smart. You have to be curious.

Curiosity is rare. That level of intelligence is rare. Probably the further up in a business you are, the less intelligent you need to be. At the entry stage, the sieve grows ever tighter and education can only do so much. The truth is we don’t manufacture that many really smart people.

We really don’t manufacture that many really smart people.

Well. Certainly not many smart business people <although we do manufacture business smart people>. And we need more smart business people these days to face not only the changing face of management but to face the changing face of business challenges. Deloitte reports the following challenges:

Eroding brand loyalty: For the third year in a row, brand loyalty in the food, beverage and household goods product categories has declined, according to the 2013 American Pantry Study. The percentage of “must have” brands – those brands consumers will purchase whether on sale or not – slipped from 33 percent in 2010 to 29 percent in 2012 due to sales on competing national brands, less expensive brands and private label offerings. The threat from private labels remains as many U.S. consumers (88 percent) have found several private labels they feel are just as good as national brands. Moreover, relatively few consumers (27 percent) plan to switch back to national brands from private labels when the economy improves.

– Rethink brand and product portfolio for the new normal: In the 2013 American Pantry Study, 76 percent of U.S. consumers surveyed believed that, “Going through these economic times has caused me to realize which brands I really care about and which ones are less important to me.”

Those brands with the highest loyalty outperform other brands on perceived product performance, experience and trust. As consumers are re-evaluating their brand relationships, consumer companies also need to rethink their product portfolio in light of the widening gap between the affluent and lower-income households. Consumer companies may need to have distinct strategies (e.g., brands, product offering, pricing) to target affluent and lower-income consumers.

– Connection.

The world is now an always-connected world and everyone is more likely to use online and mobile technology across the shopping lifecycle. I don’t care if its storytelling or customer centric or even good ole fashioned “doing business the right way” everything comes down to being agile enough to create relevan connections at the right time with the right message.

Businesses just need to be … well … smarter moving forward.

Therefore their leaders need to be smarter. Smarter in being relentlessly curious and relentlessly adapting <and adopting new knowledge>.

None of the challenges I outlined suggest plans etched in stone.

None of the challenges I outlined suggest finding the necessary knowledge through benchmarking <or any education>.

None of the challenges have a fool proof solution.

I say these things because:

“The sign of intelligence is that you are constantly wondering. Idiots are always dead sure about every damn thing they are doing in their life.”

Vasudev

==================

These challenges mean Business needs a new kind of leader. Smart … but a curious wondering agile smart. One who roams intellectually but has the ability to stand still with regard to vision … and maybe more importantly … on decisions which can, and will, come fro any direction. They will have the ability to be vibrant in repose and still amidst fluidity.

This is a tricky leadership skill. Not for the faint of heart. And, frankly, there will not be a lot of people particularly good at this.

You not only have to demonstrate curiosity but also cultivate a curious culture organizationally. That’s not the tricky part. That’s the easy part.

The hard part is managing a curious culture. Good leaders continuously learn more about their subject and are not afraid to show mistakes or admit that they don’t know it all. They continuously seek to experiment with new ideas.

While this kind of passion is both infectious and memorable … when not managed well … it can lead to an organization that sits around debating rather than doing. Constant curiosity means constant questioning especially in a world where knowledge is fluid and constant and at your fingertips. The new leader will encourage ongoing curiosity and excel at saying ‘stop here’ <no more intellectual exploration>, from this point we make a decision and go ‘do.’

That will take a good leader. Uhm. That will take a smart curious leader.

Anyway.

Smart curious leaders will walk the fine line of balancing decisions & choices <with the knowledge many decisions are “best in this time and place”> while the idiots will always be sure of what to do and where to go.

The smart will always recognize that today’s decision is a moment in time <with a horizon in mind>. And will engender support in the decisions because the followers understand that in a fluid world solid steps matter … and they may not agree today … but believe their leader is curious enough to adapt tomorrow if needed.

Look.

Smarts do matter. As stated upfront … ‘being smart will not be enough.’ The key is ‘not enough.’ Leaders still need to be smart. It’s just they need to be curious … always wondering and learning and asking and evolving and adapting.

Curious as how to spot the idiots?

They will be sure someone already has found the answer <and attempt to copy ‘greatness’> and therefore will always be sure of everything <these are the people who thrive on implementing book “to-do’s”, best practices & whatever the business fad-of-the-day is>.

Remember.

The truth is we don’t manufacture that many really smart people. Uhm. The odds are you are working with an idiot.